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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24090442">The Rescue Swimmer</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/EventHorizons13/pseuds/EventHorizons13'>EventHorizons13</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Jeffrey Dean Morgan Characters [11]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Walking Dead &amp; Related Fandoms</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Military, Coast Guard rescue swimmers, F/M, Fishing, Gen, Near Death Experiences, Rescue Missions, Risk of death, Sinking boats</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:29:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,740</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24090442</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/EventHorizons13/pseuds/EventHorizons13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Negan is a rescue swimmer for the Coast Guard in a small fishing town. His services are always valued and appreciated. No fisher ever expects to need those services though, until things go very, very wrong.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Negan (Walking Dead)/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Jeffrey Dean Morgan Characters [11]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2075559</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Rescue Swimmer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was for a challenge on Tumblr and now I can't remember who it was for. The military AU prompt hit me hard and I immediately imagined Ngan as a rescue swimmer. Hope everyone enjoys.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>I slid my cash across the top of the bar and finished off the last of my last drink. Singular. One. Only one drink. It would be awhile before I had another. Jimmy cocked a brow, surprised at the amount I had left. I always left a generous tip but even that was a bit much for me. I jerked my thumb subtly in the direction of Negan. He nodded knowingly after a second and left it at that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Negan was a member of the Coast Guard as a rescue swimmer. He was vital in a small fishing town like ours. He had saved a couple of the boys in the years he had been here. Even if he hadn’t, fishermen had a healthy respect for those that took the job. It wasn’t easy and their lives were on the line as much as ours were when they went out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He caught me on the way out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey doll. Stay and have another.” I gave him a smile and shook my head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would if I could. You know that. But I can’t. Gotta make some last second preparations before making sure everything is in our. You’re boys already gave us the clear. We are heading out tomorrow morning, early. Seasons starts at noon and we wanna be out on the ground when it officially opens.” He nodded once I explained the situation and looked a little less intent on keeping me around. This was my livelihood after all. He understood I needed this to keep a roof over my head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then...when are ya expecting to come in?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“First offload is scheduled in a week. We have a larger quota this year so we are going to be out for a bit.” I knew that it was going to be a bit of a challenge for me and my crew but the larger payday was going to be well worth it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me know when you are back in dock.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I always do.” We had an odd relationship. I knew that. Everyone around us seemed to know that. He didn’t ask those sorts of questions to the other women around. I had seen him looking, I wasn’t oblivious after all. But none of them seemed to get the concern that he gave me.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nothing had ever gone further than a couple of shared drinks and home cooked meals. There was something there that we had been dancing around though. It was palpable between us. It wasn’t like others were blind to Negan. Just about every woman in town who wasn’t married drool over him. Hell, some married probably did too. They wanted what I had with him even if I didn’t have more than a steady companionship. Nothing else had ever come of it. Yet at least.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I gave him one more smile before heading out. I hadn’t been lying when I said I needed to get to the boat. My feet carried me down to the docks and onto my boat. Bait, gear, charts. Everything was gone over with a fine toothed comb. There would still be things that needed to be seen to in the morning but I felt better making sure all my ducks were in a row. The galley was cleaned and I stocked up on the last of our food and coffee.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The season had not gone as well as hoped. We had met our quota so far but it was not without a lot of physical cost. We all shared some bangs and bruises. Those just came with the territory of being a fisherman. It was the more severe injuries that took their toll. I had gashed my arm pretty severely. It had taken forever to stop the bleeding and the boys wouldn’t suture it up for me. We lost almost two days of fishing having to head in for me to be sutured up and cleared. Then Scotty had nearly gotten caught in the lines of one of the pots that went overboard. He thankfully didn’t end up in the water but he was left with some nasty bruising on his ribs. After that, Charlie had bashed his head against the railing. He had come away with a wound to his head but it didn’t need to be sutured. Operations ground to a halt since it was just the four of us. He couldn’t manage the wheelhouse concussed and I couldn’t be out on deck helping the boys. Finally, Ryan had ended up breaking his leg. It was one nightmare after the next even though the fishing was good. We had some bad juju on the boat and none of us could figure out how to get rid of it. Ryan had to be offloaded back in town and the three of us left had to take on a greenhorn. We absolutely did not want to do it but it was the only way that we were going to be able to finish up the season and fully meet our quota.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I was in the galley, grabbing some shut eye when the alarm started screaming. The waters had been pretty violent but I had trusted Charlie at the wheel. I jolted awake and was on my feet running to the wheel house in seconds. Adrenaline rushed through me. When I arrived, I saw a panicked Charlie trying to correct the rolling that we were beginning to do. Shit, it wasn’t good. The boat pitched violently to port and I was tossed to the side. Landing hard against the side of the wheelhouse, I grunted and pushed myself back up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>We had to get the boat more settled in the choppy waters or we were going to capsize. I struggle to reach Charlie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get the raft ready. Get your suit on and make sure Mark and Scotty have theirs on too.” I demanded as he slid from the chair. He was pale but nodded. My gut was telling me that we were not going to get out of this with the boat. Flipping over the radio, I sent out a distress call as my stomach rolled. I didn’t know if there was another boat in the area that would be able to do a damn thing for us. The Coast Guard would respond fast but would it be fast enough if we were in the water?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is the fishing vessel Chronicle. We are currently at 48° 45' 0.00" N and -128° 54' 0.00" W. We are capsizing and need rescue.” I repeated the message twice before the boat pitched violently again. I had no choice. I had to get the men off the ship. I grabbed my suit from its place under my seat and hauled ass towards the deck. Charlie and Scotty had themselves and Mark in their suits and were getting the life raft ready. I quickly worked on getting into mine while they activated their EPIRBS. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before I could comprehend what was happening, we were all in the water. The cold was a shock to the system even in the survival suit. The raft didn’t get too far from us and I saw three heads moving towards it. At least there was that small grace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt like hours. We were thrown back and forth in our tiny life raft, all tied together to make sure that no one got lost if we were turned over. The cold was brutal, our teeth chattering and the darkness setting in leaving us all with a sense of dread. Mark could barely handle it while the rest of us seasoned fishers were solemn. We couldn’t hear each other much over the crashing waves and roaring wind. Hope was fading fast that we would make it out of this situation alive. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as we were huddled close to begin a final prayer, a spot light hit us. Never had I felt more relief and joy in my damn life. Sure enough, above us was what looked like a Coast Guard helicopter. My men would go up first. That much was determined even if they wanted to protest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>I couldn’t see who it was that was lowered into the water to help us. It didn’t matter. They were our saving grace. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>One by one, my crew was lifted above the helicopter. As the swimmer was lowered back down, the raft tipped over and I crashed into the water. Dark and churning waters combined with pure exhaustion and hypothermia left me disoriented. I didn’t know which way was up. I didn’t have a lot of fight left in me.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as I was giving in, just as I felt the fuzziness taking over my mind, I was pulled to the surface.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not gonna happen doll.” I knew that voice. I tried to move but my limbs felt like lead weights. “I got you. Gonna get you warmed up and safe.” I trusted him and let myself drift off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first thing I really noticed was the insistent beeping. Steady and never ending. Groaning, I opened my eyes to be met with a bright white light. Was I dead?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fucking hell woman. I didn’t think you were ever going to wake up.” No, I didn’t think I was dead. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the lighting. Negan was sitting beside my bed, legs outstretched, looking exhausted but with a smile on his face. “Don’t ever fucking do that shit again. Do you fucking hear me? That’s the closest I’ve come to losing someone and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be you for my first.” He leaned over and kissed my forehead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, I need a fucking shower and shave.” He rubbed his cheek which had a noticeable five o’clock shadow bordering a stupply beard. My mind couldn’t quite catch up to what was happening. “You’re about to be fucked in the least pleasant way possible by docs and nurses in about three seconds. I’ll be back and we are going to have a serious chat.” He murmured before there was a rush into the room. I owed the man my life. It was going to take more than a couple of beers and some good food to make up for it. With the worried look he shot over his shoulder, I didn’t think I would have a hard time convincing him to allow me to do it. </span>
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